12 Strong (2018) Movie Review

When it comes to true story movies it’s always important to make sure everything is portrayed correctly. Many people dislike the fact that solider true story movies are always portrayed as special and that we should be thankful for what they do. I definitely agree that we should thankful for the hard and dangerous work they do just like the film 12 Strong. This film is fantastic from start to finish and it’s another true story movie that definitely needs to be shown. I was surprised by what happened in the film and by the end you’re amazed that this event actually happened. There are a few problems that ruin but overall I really enjoyed this film for what it was trying to do.

Characters – Every actor in this film played a fantastic job with their true story character. They were all very likeable and brought a different kind of charm to the film. This is where the first problem comes in because you barely remember the names since they never mention them much. I feel that this type film needs to say the characters names more so you can remember them because saying them once is not enough. I always heard certain names over others like Captain Mitch Nelson(Chris Hemsworth) and Hal Spencer(Michael Shannon) who are the main characters of the film but that makes the film weird. It’s a true story so you want to make sure every name is mentioned so they can be noticed especially for what they did. Besides that small problem all the performances were great and I believed everything mentioned. Also the humor in the film was nice since it shows that they had to keep their heads up.

Plot – Basically this true story revolves around a U.S. Special Forces team that is sent to Afghanistan to stop the Taliban right after 911 happened. It’s the same kind of plot that everyone has seen for a long time. It’s just a fantastic plot not only because it’s based off a true story but everything that happens during the time as well. I don’t want to mention much about the film but once you realize the odds the plot becomes more deep because this wasn’t an easy task to do. It was like playing on the hardest difficulty in a video game because you were always getting destroyed on that setting. Overall the plot was amazing and definitely added some new elements to make it feel different.

Action, Sound, _acing, and Music – PHENOMENAL from the very first bullet you hear to the first intense action scene that happens in the film it’s definitely something to watch. Every gunshot sounded real and brutal which made it feel even more realistic. The action helps add that as well and while there aren’t that many in 12 Strong the ones that come up ESPECIALLY the last one are amazing from start to finish. I can still hear the explosions and gunshots from the film while I write this review because they were that perfect. Pacing is subjective because most people like quick going films and some like very slow films or even both.

12 Strong goes in the slow pacing however the performances and all the information being thrown at you keep it INTERESTING AND EMOTIONAL from beginning to end. The action is quick and intense and once those end it jumps right back into a slow interesting drama. The pacing here felt great and I hoped it added 15 more minutes because the end kind of leaves you on a cliffhanger with many questions. The music in the film is unique and brought a different tone for each song. The music during the action fit PERFECTLY and it made those scenes even more intense. I got goosebumps having the music and realistic sounds during those action scenes.

Overall and Recommendation? – 12 Strong is almost a perfect film however the name issue and the cliffhanger ruin it a lot. That doesn’t mean that everything was fantastic and I would DEFINITELY RECOMMEND THIS FILM. Also definitely watch it in theaters for the best experience or when it comes to DVD turn up your volume for the best watch. I only gave it a 5 because my real review is a 4.7/5 since it’s definitely not a 4/5.